Making a Stand

British Muslim Women

As British Muslim women we believe in the principles of democracy, human rights, peaceful co-existence and respect for life. These are being daily undermined by extremists and terrorists who murder, rape and steal in the name of Islam. We declare that groups like Islamic State, Al Qaeda and Boko Haram do not represent our faith and pose a very real and dangerous threat to our communities and to women’s rights and lives.

‘Making A Stand’

We launched this campaign in 2014 because we wanted to stop the damage caused by extremists poisoning young minds in our communities. As mothers we were losing our children as they turned their backs on us, choosing instead to join the murderous so-called Islamic state having been radicalised online by hate preachers pushing their messages of a false Islam.

Listening to women as they told us of their suffering and unimaginable grief on discovering that their sons and daughters had turned their backs on the family to join ISIS made us realise that if we came together our voice would be stronger.

We decided to make a stand to utterly and unequivocally reject the barbarism of the so-called Islamic state and to reject extremists and radicalisers such as Boko Haram and Al Shabaab.

We were determined to ensure that these terrorists would no longer be able to prey on our children with impunity.

Women now feel empowered to stand up and say: “No more. Enough is enough.” Building on the success of the campaign so far, we visited Birmingham, Luton, Cardiff, Leeds, Burnley, , Bristol, West and East London in order to spread the word.

We are thankful to the Home Office for supporting our Making A Stand campaign. The funding received to deliver projects into communities has helped provide women with an opportunity to better understand how they can protect their children from radicalisation and extremism.

‘Taking the Lead’

Women are the first defence against radicalisers in our communities.

So as women in our communities we will declare our abhorrence of extremism and take the lead in stopping radicalisers preying on our children and grooming them for violence.

‘Our Commitment’

Through #makingastand we commit ourselves to rejecting terrorism and violence practised in the name of Islam. Together we will:

Challenge hatred and extremism wherever we find it.

Exert influence in our Mosques and communities.

Create local support networks and partner with statutory agencies.

Equip our communities with counter-narratives and help families identify the signs of radicalisation.